Heterotopic oral gastrointestinal cyst: report of a case

Heterotopic oral gastrointestinal cyst, also called enterocystoma, is a rare choristoma composed of gastric and intestinal mucosa. Its origin is thought to be derived from misplaced embryonal rests. Clinically, it often causes swallowing and speaking difficulties. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice. Our reported case was a 16-month-old boy. He was noted to have a sublingual mass since birth, and was brought to our out-patient clinic due to gradual enlargement of the mass in the past month with swallowing and phonation difficulties. Surgical excision of the cyst was performed and microscopic examination revealed gastric mucosa and a variety of epithelial linings along the cyst wall. The patient had a good recovery after the operation.